Birds in the News 63 (v2n14)

Soccer-playing carrion crow, Corvus corone
(This is a captive domesticated bird).
Image: Koichi Harada, Asahi Shimbun/AP.

Birds in Science

Filling a gap in the evolution of birds, scientists have dug up fossils of a bird, Gansus yumenensis (pictured), that lived 110 million years ago and looked remarkably like a small modern-day waterfowl. The finding, reported recently in the journal Science, supports the notion that all living birds, from ostriches to ducks to hummingbirds, descended from an ancestor that lived by the shore. In 2004, researchers led by Hai-lu You of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences returned to the region for the first tme in 20 years and found about 40 more fossils of Gansus in an area that was once a lake. The best-preserved fossils are nearly complete and even show parts of the feathers, although none include the bird's skull. [Chinese press release: PDF].

Researchers have demonstrated that learning about the appearance of their parents may give birds a preference for mates with exaggerated parental traits, rather than traits that more exactly match those of their parents. Such learned mate preferences may help drive the evolution of exaggerated traits and strong morphological differences between sexes. In most bird species, young individuals look to their parents as a basic model for what their future mate should look like; however, most birds prefer mates in which specific traits are exaggerated compared with those of their parents. This is the process of sexual imprinting, made famous by the Nobel prize winner Konrad Lorenz. The outcome of a new study shows that the skewed mating preferences in birds that are crucial for driving the evolution of sexual dimorphism and exaggerated traits in birds may result directly from sexual imprinting. These findings are reported by Carel ten Cate, Machteld Verzijden and Eric Etman of Leiden University, and appear in the June 6th issue of Current Biology.

The promiscuous mating habits of black swans, Cygnus atratus (pictured), have initiated a new study at Albert Park Lake by University of Melbourne researchers. "Swans have long been renowned as symbols of lifelong fidelity and devotion, but our recent work has shown that infidelity is rife among black swans," says Raoul Mulder from the University of Melbourne's Department of Zoology. "Our research hopes to provide new material for nature documentaries and reveal to the world, the true sexual nature of these iconic birds," said Mulder. [Image: David Jefferies]

People Hurting Birds

At least five parakeets in the San Francisco Zoo's new blockbuster exhibit, Binnowee Landing, tested positive for a disease that is highly contagious and nearly always fatal to other psittacines -- including family pets -- according to an internal memo sent by the head veterinarian the day before the exhibit opened. The illness, Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), is caused by a virus whose symptoms in birds resemble those caused by HIV in humans. Fortunately, the virus cannot be transmitted to humans. However, the zoo knew about the problem before opening the heavily promoted June 8 opening of the interactive exhibit, in which birds in a walk-in aviary land on visitors who lure them with millet-coated feed sticks (pictured). The test findings were reported on May 11, two weeks before the birds arrived in San Francisco. "Can your birds make my bird sick?" inquired a reporter, who does not actually have a bird. "No," the zoo responded. GrrlScientist comment: I am outraged that the San Francisco Zoo is behaving in a completely irresponsible money-grubbing manner by not informing the public that their birds tested positive for this deadly (for many psittacine species) virus. Further, the San Francisco Zoo lied to that reporter when they asserted that the zoo's bird flock could not infect a visitor's pet birds. The fact is, a visitor could accidentally carry this virus home on his clothes or hair or hands to infect his own pet birds. [Image: AP]

New research suggests the booming coal-bed methane development of Montana and Wyoming may be driving greater sage-grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus (displaying male, pictured), away from areas of the mineral-rich Powder River Basin that are being drilled for gas. Given the current pace of drilling in the region, which includes parts of eastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana, "the full extent of suitable habitat" will be developed within the next 20 years, leaving sage grouse with no place to go, said lead researcher David Naugle. "There are going to have to be some tough decisions" made, said Naugle, a wildlife professor at the University of Montana. The university researchers found that areas in which methane wells are being drilled didn't have the same strong population growth recorded elsewhere in the basin in 2004 and 2005. [Image: Gail Patricelli]

The tidal flats along a stretch of South Korea's southwest coast are drying out and endangered birds like the spoon-billed sandpiper, Eurynorhynchus pygmeus (pictured), have fled toward the Yellow Sea in search of food. Fishermen who depend on the 40,000-hectare Saemangeum wetlands for shellfish complain their catches have plummeted by three-quarters and say they can't take their boats out. The reason is a 33-kilometer sea wall that completed in April over the objections of environmentalists who fear it will destroy one of Asia's most important wetlands. [Image: à¸à¸²à¸£à¸¡à¸µ à¹à¸à¹à¸¡à¸à¸¸à¸à¹à¸à¸µà¸¢à¸£à¸à¸´]

The Village of Scotia is planning to kill Canada geese, Branta canadensis (pictured), that have been hanging around and pooping in the park and polluting the village lake. The plan was announced to kill the geese and give the meat from the so-called "goose roundup" to the needy, under the "Hunters Helping the Hungry" plan. But one sportsman with some serious credentials opposes the bird kill. "Even though I'm a hunter and fisher, I don't want our kids to think these wildlife are bad," says Wildlife Pathologist Ward Stone. "That's not what I want to teach our kids." But other groups favor the goose roundup, and, sending the frozen meat to food pantries. Groups such as the State and the County Conservation Councils, and of course, the Village of Scotia. [Image: Fermilab]

People Helping Birds

Amidst growing concern regarding the likely impending extinction of the critically endangered Bali starling or Jalak Bali, Leucopsar rothschildi (pictured), also widely known as Curik Bali, ex-situ conservation at Taman Safari Indonesia (TSI) in Cisarua, Bogor of West Java has succeeded in breeding the endemic bird. "For the first time, TSI Cisarua succeeded breeding Curik Bali in an exhibit," a spokesman of TSI, Nur Syamsiah said. Curik Bali is an Indonesian endemic bird from West Bali. According to a survey in 2005, only five birds survived in their original habitat. [Image]

Shortly after 4 a.m. in the morning, Leslie Karasin and Chad Jemison, both of Saranac Lake, and Chad Seewagen of New York City stood at the summit of Whiteface Mountain with only the glow of head lamps to light their way. In half an hour, the Bicknell's thrush, Catharus bicknelli (pictured), a bird species of critical concern in New York state, would begin its most vocal two hours of the day. No thrushes would be seen on this early-morning outing, but they would be heard. "(Bicknell's thrushes') breeding grounds are really limited because they only breed above 2,800 to 3,000 feet, which changes a little according to latitude," said Karasin, who is the program manager for the WCS's Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program. According to Karasin, these thrushes migrate to the Northeast from Hispaniola -- Haiti and the Dominican Republic -- in early to late May, and it is then that they find their niche in the shorter, shrub-like balsam firs that are prevalent on the high peaks of the Adirondacks, including Whiteface, where ski resorts are found. [Image: Dan Busby]

Missouri's native greater prairie-chickens, Tympanuchus cupido (pictured), once strutted the grasslands by the thousands. Now, their number is 500 and dropping. So the Missouri Department of Conservation is broadening its prairie-chicken restoration program to keep one of the state's most distinctive birds from disappearing forever. As grasslands vanished, and as a forage grass unfriendly to wildlife, tall fescue, continued to spread into pastures, prairie-chicken numbers dropped to about 500, said said Max Gallagher, a biologist based in Clinton, Missouri. Those birds are scattered on remnant grasslands. Starting July 1, the department will add $455,000 in new funding for prairie-chickens and work with other agencies or private groups on habitat improvement, research and eco-tourism for grassland birds, said Gallagher. [Image: Mary Tremaine/CLO]

The Caucasian black grouse, Tetrao mlokosiewiczi, known locally as Dað Horozu ('cockerel of the mountain') or Huþ Tavuðu ('birch chicken'), is one of the least known birds in Turkey. It is also one of only two species of bird in Europe classified as Data Deficient (the other being Scottish Crossbill, Loxia scotica). According to BirdLife's Birds in Europe (2004), the grouse has an estimated population of 3,000 to 4,500 birds in Turkey. Since February 2004, Doða Derneði (BirdLife in Turkey) has been carrying out an exciting two-year project aimed at increasing our knowledge and understanding of the species in Turkey and developing a plan to help its conservation. [Image: Doga Dernegi]

A vulture with a nine-foot wingspan is soaring the skies of mid Wales. George, an African white-backed vulture, Gyps africanus (pictured), is being allowed to fly freely from his home at the Dyfi raptors centre in Machynlleth. His owner, falconer Barry MacDonald, assures people startled by the sight of such a huge vulture that George is "totally safe". "George is quite a character - but he was hand-reared as a baby so he's totally tame," said MacDonald. "We're basically going to be keeping him within the Dyfi Valley, but there's always a chance he could range a bit further depending on the height that he goes up," he added. Some types of vulture have been spotted flying at up to 37,000 ft (11,278m) - but MacDonald said he did not expect George to reach that sort of altitude.

A woman's dream of making a film on a rare species of bird is set to become a reality next month. Zhang Haiyan from Dalian, a port city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, has been working on a script and raising funds for the film, which is based on black-faced spoonbills, Platalea minor (pictured), for the past six years. The film records her own experiences on the island of Shicheng where she once lived close to rocky isles where the birds breed and is aimed at highlighting the plight of the bird. It is estimated that there are only 1,000 spoonbills worldwide. Filming is due to begin next month. [Image: Neil Fifer]

With the help of a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act with support from the Cayman Island Department of Environment, the National Trust in the Cayman Islands has released a bird identification card which will be given to every school child in that country. One side of the card depicts 28 of the 46 breeding land birds with 24 migratory birds portrayed on the reverse. The card is made of durable plastic for long life and water resistance and will be distributed to schools with a presentation on local birds called "Do you know me?" which includes the common local names for many resident birds.

A report was recently released by a blog pal that describes migrating shorebirds seen in Skogsøy / Herdlevær, on the western coast of Norway. Most disturbingly, their data show that bird species that are dependent on small surface prey have all shown massive population declines since the last systematic counts were conducted in the early 1980s. They also found that arctic skua (also known as the parasitic jaeger), Stercorarius parasiticus (pictured), which prey on these other species, also showed indications of a significant population decrease. A total of over 60,500 birds were counted during 466 hours of seawatching (for an average of six hours of birding per day). This is the first of several reports [PDF, Image: Oliver Smart].

Bald Eagle News

The young eaglet cradled in wildlife biologist Jason Zimmer's arms was anything but cute or delicate. It sat with talons clenched, sharp beak open and hissing, as a silver band, and then a golden one, were attached to its yellow legs. From that moment on, the six-week-old, 7 1/2-pound American bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, became known as "WV1." To the wildlife officials who last week banded the birds nested at Pocksha Pond, WV1 and its sibling, WV2, are the next generation in a dramatic national wildlife success story. Just 20 years ago there were no known bald eagle nests in Massachusetts; the last known nesting place had been in Sandwich a century earlier. This news story includes a slideshow detailing the process described in the article (length: 2:10).

The young bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, found in Amherst, NY, over the weekend is on the mend. "He's great. He's much improved," Joel Thomas, wildlife administrator for the Erie County SPCA, said Wednesday. The eagle was found in distress in a wooded area near Hopkins and Klein roads Saturday afternoon by two boys. The bird showed signs of neurological impairment, was not able to walk and was underweight. Thomas said he has discussed the eagle's case with the endangered species unit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and it is believed the eagle is suffering from avian botulism.

A dehydrated eaglet that made a last-ditch flight toward water on May 12â¨was rescued, nursed back to health and repatriated to its cliffside nest on the Verde River near Clarkdale. The male chick, the 48th eaglet to be rescued by an Arizona Game and Fish Department program since 1978, represents a strong season for the department's Arizona Bald Eagle Management Program. Listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Interior Department, the bald eagle has been proposed for delisting.

Other Endangered Bird News

The Oregon Zoo's California condor captive breeding program suffered its first fatality with the death of a 9-day-old chick. The chick's remains were discovered last Tuesday outside a nest at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation in Clackamas County, Oregon, the zoo announced last week. "It was a very sad outcome to a very dramatic story," said Shawn St.â¨Michael, assistant curator for birds.

Two rare wading birds are dead and one missing after recent heavy snows collapsed an aviary at the black stilt breeding center near Twizel, in New Zealand. Three large aviaries house captive breeding black stilts or "kakis", Himantopus novaezelandiae (pictured), until they are old enough to be released into the wild. Kaki aviculturist Emily Sancha said that it had started snowing steadily in Twizel on Sunday evening. Department of Conservation staff heard a loud bang early Monday morning. "When I arrived here early Monday I couldn't believe the shambles and expected the worst," Sancha said. [Image: New Zealand Department of Conservation]

Beck's petrel, Pterodroma becki (pictured), unseen since 1929, was apparently seen and photographed in the Coral Sea, east of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The observer, birding tour guide Richard Baxter, was able to compare it directly with Tahiti Petrel, Pterodroma rostrata, the bird with which it is most likely to be confused (and with which it may be conspecific). â¨

Avian Influenza News

If the bird flu virus arrives in the United States on the wings of migrating wildfowl or in the bowls of infected poultry or in the products made from poultry, such as pickled chicken feet, pet owners may need to take special precautions to protect their household members - both human and animal. Health authorities are looking at pets because they often live a dual life -- roaming outdoors, chasing birds and then returning home to nuzzle and play with people. Cats have caught the H5N1 virus by eating infected birds, though the reported cases are rare. "Cats can serve as an intermediary to move the virus from essentially a wild bird environment into people's houses," said Walter Boyce at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. GrrlScientist comment: I think "might" is a more accurate representation given our current knowledge on this virus and its epidemiology. However, this is yet another compelling argument for keeping indoor-only cats.

A spokesman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says no highly pathogenic avian H5N1 flu virus has been found in Alaska birds sampled so far. About two-thousand samples have been collected and tested. Division of Wildlife Conservation director, Matt Robus, says most of theâ¨birds tested were killed by hunters in southwest Alaska and there are no indications that the virus has reached the state.

Canada has detected a case of H5 avian flu in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island and plans further testing over the weekend to determine the strain and virulence, government officials announced on Friday. A gosling in a small backyard poultry flock in the western end of the tiny province contracted the disease, but there is a low risk of human illness from the case, the chief health officer for Prince Edward Island said in a news release. "That virus is marked by high mortality in birds. There has been no high mortality, it has not been observed in this situation," a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) spokesperson said. Not all H5 viruses are highly pathogenic and not all will cause severe disease in poultry. GrrlScientist comment: Did you notice that the news story includes a photo of wild migratory snow geese, Chen caerulescens, even though the H5-infected bird is a domestic barnyard goose? That's rather disingenuous, don't you think?

Bird Watching News

Hundreds of binocular-carrying bird lovers are converging on the city of Bangor in Maine during this week for a national conference on all things bird-related. Bangor is the host city for the American Birding Association's (ABA) annual convention, which runs from today through next Sunday, June 19-25, at the Civic Center. "We do have quite a few people who are coming here to get lifers for their life list," said the ABA's Tamie Bulow, referring to the tally of species that many birders keep.

The National Football League claims to be "America's Game" today, but it is a distant second to America's real game -- bird watching! To the NFL fan, watching means a beer, nachos, a comfortable chair and a TV remote to eliminate any hint of physical activity. To the birder, watching means getting on two feet then walking anywhere from a few yards to several miles, battling the heat, cold, snow, sun, poison ivy, ticks and mosquitoes. There are more birders - well over 50 million - than sports watching couch potatoes, and they are 100 percent more active and productive.

It's a morbid phenomenon nobody has been able to explain, but Jatinga's mysterious annual ritual of migratory birds committing mass suicide is all set to become Assam's latest tourist attraction. Officials say 44 species of migratory birds, including tiger bittern, black bittern, little egret, pond heron, Indian pitta and kingfishers, take part in this phenomenon. Interestingly, the birds are not attracted to the entire Jatinga Ridge but only to a well-defined strip, 1.5 km long and 200 metres wide. Assam's tourism ministry is currently preparing a detailed development plan for this village, which is located in North Cachar Hill district, south of Guwahati, in India.

Streaming Birds

This week on BirdNote, beginning on June 19, Monday, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyz americanus, disappears from the woodlands of the Northwest; Tuesday, Mahler's Cuckoo -- how the cuckoo's voice has been immortalized in classical music; Wednesday, the sageland singer, Brewer's Sparrow, Spizella breweri; Thursday, the tiniest bird on the continent -- what is it? the Calliope Hummingbird, Stellula calliope!; and Friday, how nestlings leave the nest. BirdNotes transport the listener out of the daily grind with two-minute vignettes that incorporate the rich sounds of birds provided by Cornell University and by other sound recordists, with photographs and written stories that illustrate the interesting -- and in some cases, truly amazing -- abilities of birds. Some of the shows are Pacific Northwest-oriented, but many are of general interest. BirdNote can be heard live, Monday through Friday, 8:58-9:00AM in Western Washington state and Southern British Columbia, Canada, on KPLU radio and now also in North Central Washington state on KOHO radio. All episodes are available in the BirdNote archives, both in written transcript and mp3 formats, along with photographs. Listener ideas and comments are welcomed. [rss].

Miscellaneous Birds

This Week at Hilton Pond presents a photoessay about Mimosa, which is a great hummingbird attractor but has the disadvantage of being a invasive plant. Also included is a list of birds banded; this week, they also describe a very interesting assortment of Ruby-throated Hummingbird recaptures.

Soccer is so popular that even the birds are getting in on the act. The Tokuyama Zoo in western Japan has taught four young carrion crows, Corvus corone, how to play soccer (pictured, also see featured image above). The birds use their beaks to dribble a miniature ball toward a soccer goal, and they sometimes tackle each other for possession before scoring, according to head zookeeper Satoru Tanaka. [Image: AP]

Would you like to see some baby pictures of four young peregrine falcons, Falco peregrinus, that were recently banded in Duluth, Minnesota? Awwwww, sure you would! This story includes a slideshow that shows the process of banding these birds.

Mr. P, a proud Indian peafowl (more commonly known as a "peacock"), Pavo cristatus, puts on a dazzling display of mating prowess at a service station in Brierly, southwest England, for three months each year, in the vain hope of getting some high-octane action with the pumps. Ornithologists reckon he is attracted by the clicking sound of the pumps, which resemble the mating calls of a broody peahen, The Times said. His two brothers are similarly dim-witted when it comes to love. One appears to have a crush on a cat while the other has been spotted attempting to mate with a garden light.

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The Fine Print: Thanks to my bird pals; Bob, Diane, Julian, Christine, Mike, Jeremy, Ellen and Ron for some of the news story links that you are enjoying here. Thanks in advance to Ian for catching my typos; as you probably know by now, I put a few typographical errors in these documents just so Ian can find them! Images are resized and are either linked from the news story that they accompany or they are credited and linked back to the photographer.